directly in her ear.
“How can Oromico mate with the chosen wife with so many people around?”
Orocobix laughed silently beside her his belly rippling up and down. “Do you want me to show you?”
“No I am too private for that, besides isn’t that somebody’s foot?” she pointed a few feet from them, “I thought Arawaks slept in hammocks…in trees.”
“My father had one wife and we never heard them.” Orocobix whispered. “Besides it does not rain all the time and there are hammocks outside where a couple can sleep if they have a mind to do so.”
“Will I be your only wife?” Ana whispered in his ear.
“Yes you will.” Orocobix kissed her slowly on the lips. “I would forego sons and being chief for you.”
“Thank you,” Ana felt touched.
Was she falling in love with a man who could be a figment of her imagination? Could she be falling for a man dead for five hundred years?
“What are you thinking?” He asked sensing that her thoughts were jumbled.
“I was thinking how different the landscape is from the future: the many streams, the various trees and the abundance of palm trees.”
“How can the future be different?” Orocobix grappled, in his mind, with the concept of the same place looking different.
“Right where we are now is called Seville. At this spot, in Oromico’s dwelling are landscaped lawns, to the right of us is an old windmill. I…I…” Ana sighed sadly. “There is a stream couple yards from here, the river that I saw earlier will be a stream. We have vehicles that transport us and instruments that take us around like birds that we call airplanes.”
“Shhh,” Orocobix hushed her as he felt her scalding tears on his shoulder. “I love my ‘here and now’ Ana, the burden of the future is too heavy for me to even think about. Just let it go for now.”
Ana nodded drowsily. “One more thing, Orocobix. Who was that woman that gave me the baby? She is not Taino.”
“No, Oromico found her on a deserted island many moons ago. She did not speak our language. He brought her here and she joined with one of his men. The baby she handed to you was her first.”
“Do you see how different she is?” Ana asked eagerly.
Orocobix nodded.
Can you imagine men with her features? Pale of skin and eyes the color of the sea or of trees.”
Orocobix nodded again.
“Would you think them as gods?” Ana spun around on her side and peered at him in the dark.
“No, I would not.”
Ana sighed in relief. “No you would not. She is normal like you and me.”
“Sure,” Orocobix agreed. “Lets sleep, tomorrow you will help Yuisa with some women’s work. Since both of you are first wives of chiefs.”
Ana sidled closer to him and fell asleep partially relieved. That was one part of the battle over. There would be no ignorant Indians on the island of Jamaica when Christopher Columbus made his so-called discovery, if she had anything to do with it. She would use the strange woman as Exhibit A.
Orocobix laid in the darkness and caressed Ana’s hair. He had never thought of Agita as a stranger, mostly because she was Oromico’s serving girl for years before one of his elders asked for her to be joined to him.
Her pale hair, her eyes the color of the sky, had never before filled him with such trepidation.
******
It was still dark outside when Ana was awakened by Yuisa’s call. The air was cool and Ana wished she had a sweater or something warmer; instead she had to make do with another of Orocobix’s cloths. Her twenty first century body was not used to the elements. She shivered under the thin material and asked Yuisa for the toilets.
The Arawaks were a clean bunch and Ana was not surprised when she was pointed to the Chief’s toilet. It was a small hut that was a couple of yards from where they had slept. It had a hole in the ground covered with thatch. There was even a calabash of water in the corner to wash.
This was the worse part of living in the past, Ana
“How can Oromico mate with the chosen wife with so many people around?”
Orocobix laughed silently beside her his belly rippling up and down. “Do you want me to show you?”
“No I am too private for that, besides isn’t that somebody’s foot?” she pointed a few feet from them, “I thought Arawaks slept in hammocks…in trees.”
“My father had one wife and we never heard them.” Orocobix whispered. “Besides it does not rain all the time and there are hammocks outside where a couple can sleep if they have a mind to do so.”
“Will I be your only wife?” Ana whispered in his ear.
“Yes you will.” Orocobix kissed her slowly on the lips. “I would forego sons and being chief for you.”
“Thank you,” Ana felt touched.
Was she falling in love with a man who could be a figment of her imagination? Could she be falling for a man dead for five hundred years?
“What are you thinking?” He asked sensing that her thoughts were jumbled.
“I was thinking how different the landscape is from the future: the many streams, the various trees and the abundance of palm trees.”
“How can the future be different?” Orocobix grappled, in his mind, with the concept of the same place looking different.
“Right where we are now is called Seville. At this spot, in Oromico’s dwelling are landscaped lawns, to the right of us is an old windmill. I…I…” Ana sighed sadly. “There is a stream couple yards from here, the river that I saw earlier will be a stream. We have vehicles that transport us and instruments that take us around like birds that we call airplanes.”
“Shhh,” Orocobix hushed her as he felt her scalding tears on his shoulder. “I love my ‘here and now’ Ana, the burden of the future is too heavy for me to even think about. Just let it go for now.”
Ana nodded drowsily. “One more thing, Orocobix. Who was that woman that gave me the baby? She is not Taino.”
“No, Oromico found her on a deserted island many moons ago. She did not speak our language. He brought her here and she joined with one of his men. The baby she handed to you was her first.”
“Do you see how different she is?” Ana asked eagerly.
Orocobix nodded.
Can you imagine men with her features? Pale of skin and eyes the color of the sea or of trees.”
Orocobix nodded again.
“Would you think them as gods?” Ana spun around on her side and peered at him in the dark.
“No, I would not.”
Ana sighed in relief. “No you would not. She is normal like you and me.”
“Sure,” Orocobix agreed. “Lets sleep, tomorrow you will help Yuisa with some women’s work. Since both of you are first wives of chiefs.”
Ana sidled closer to him and fell asleep partially relieved. That was one part of the battle over. There would be no ignorant Indians on the island of Jamaica when Christopher Columbus made his so-called discovery, if she had anything to do with it. She would use the strange woman as Exhibit A.
Orocobix laid in the darkness and caressed Ana’s hair. He had never thought of Agita as a stranger, mostly because she was Oromico’s serving girl for years before one of his elders asked for her to be joined to him.
Her pale hair, her eyes the color of the sky, had never before filled him with such trepidation.
******
It was still dark outside when Ana was awakened by Yuisa’s call. The air was cool and Ana wished she had a sweater or something warmer; instead she had to make do with another of Orocobix’s cloths. Her twenty first century body was not used to the elements. She shivered under the thin material and asked Yuisa for the toilets.
The Arawaks were a clean bunch and Ana was not surprised when she was pointed to the Chief’s toilet. It was a small hut that was a couple of yards from where they had slept. It had a hole in the ground covered with thatch. There was even a calabash of water in the corner to wash.
This was the worse part of living in the past, Ana
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